Some of the wisest advice I ever heard:

“Before doing something online ask, ‘does this work in real life?’”

I heard it from Sean D’Souza.

(In his 2008 System Seminar teaching.)

And, I have found it to be extremely accurate.

For example:

Many emailers obsess over open rates.

“Oh I got my open rates up to 45%!!!”

“Great! But did your sales go up?”

“…”

They don’t know.

They aren’t tracking sales. They simply believe if their open rates are up, that’s how to measure email success.

Yes, open rate stats are useful.

Don’t misunderstand.

But let’s apply them to real life.

Imagine you’re a direct mailer.

Paper, stamps, mailing house, etc.

Just testing your mailing costs a few thousand smackeroos. Will you care how many people open your envelope? Or are you going to care how many SALES you got, so you can make your money back to cover the check you just wrote to finance the mailing in the first place?

Most IM’ers seem to care about everything BUT sales.

Like open rates.

Number of FaceBook “likes”.

Twitter follower count.

How many blog comments they get, etc.

It’s madness.

Yes, the above are fine to track.

But just make sure you track SALES, too.

After all…

What’s putting food on your table?

FaceBook likes and open rates…

Or sales?

Anyway, if you want to start writing emails that make lots of sales (and get great open rates and clickthrough rates to boot…) then check out “Email Players.”

It’s pricey.

And it’s not for those just “playing” business.

(If you don’t implement, don’t join.)

But the results subscribers are getting with their emails is surprising even to me sometimes.

(And I use this stuff every day).

Go here to subscribe:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Good times… good times…

Recently a website published an article I wrote about a 5 minute change I made to an ad that turned it from a complete loser to a long time winner that resulted in some pretty delicious commissions over the course of a few years.

The information in the article is mucho valuable.

At least, it has been to me.

And in some ways, the most valuable article I’ve ever written.

But, not everyone thought so.

Specifically a goo-roo fanboy who objected:

“What a complete waste of time that was…”

Why would he say that?

Well, because like most goo-roo fanboys, he probably doesn’t like being taught the fundamentals.

They want “ninja tricks.”

They only seek out shiny-new-objects.

And the fundamentals are like kryptonite to them.

It’s like all they want is “advanced.”

But the irony is, advanced info can only be applied successfully by someone who has mastered (not just learned) the fundamentals. It’s like the story about a martial arts master and his new student. The student was full of piss & vinegar and wanted to skip to the advanced stuff.

“Show me something advanced!”

So the master thought about it.

And in the blink of an eye, threw a punch so fast… the speed of it blew out a nearby candle!

“Show me how to punch that fast!” squeaked the student.

To which the master said…

“First, you need to learn HOW to punch.”

Goo-roo fanboys never get this point.

That’s why they’re goo-roo fanboys.

It’s also why I wrote “The Email Players Cookbook”.

I didn’t want new “Email Players” subscribers coming on board looking for somewhere to plug their umbilical cords. The book comes free with your subscription, and lays out the basics of the “Settle system” of email marketing and “preps” you for the advanced material in the newsletter.

The book has lots and lots of tips inside.

Even some “advanced” ones.

(Taught in context…)

Anyway.

You can ONLY get it by subscribing to “Email Players.”

It’s not for sale to the general public.

Go here to get it:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

The only question that matters is asked…

“Hey Ben, You regularly mention not following various goo-roos’ advice blindly…how do we know we can trust your advice versus the goo-roos without seeing any “proof” other than your word? I absolutely love your teaching and am beginning to apply it to my business, particularly emailing my blog posts rather than linking back to them. I’m considering joining Email Players, too.

I’m just curious how you’d answer that question.

I don’t mean this as negative or critical at all.

Just one of those “how do you know” questions.

A very good question.

Here’s my answer:

Look, I don’t think you should follow ANY advice (including mine) blindly and I’ve said it before.

Test everything, see what works for you.

The proof is in the doing.

It’s the only real “proof” there is.

Take the tips I give away free (especially in the free “Email Players” pdf and my media page) and use them.

It costs bubkis to test this stuff out.

It either works or it doesn’t.

And if it does?

If you want more?

If you want the really advanced material?

“Email Players” is waiting patiently for ya at…

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

P.S. Speaking of proof…

The FTC doesn’t like us posting testimonials where people had results that aren’t “average.” Otherwise I’d post the testimonial I got last week from Kelly Tanguay about the free tips (not even the paid stuff) I give away. Specifically, how she doubled response (and more than doubled sales) for her boss resulting in over $50k in extra unexpected dollars from a single mailing.

Bottom line:

The material speaks for itself.

I got nuttin’ to prove…

Fred (a networker marketer) asks…

“I’m in the biz-op arena of network marketing. It does seem like I should be able to adopt your email strategy to network marketing with good, (maybe excellent) results. What do you think?”

I think it’s a great question.

I reckon lots of network marketers wonder about this.

And the answer is:

Yep.

I think network marketers could dominate using email correctly.

And I’ll tell you why:

Many moons ago (2002′ish) I was a frustrated network marketer who couldn’t sponsor my way out of a paper bag if my life depended on it. I mean, I REALLY sucked at it. Until one day I found a brilliant direct marketer (and network marketer) named Art Jonak.

Back then, he had a weekly tele-seminar.

And on it he taught generic MLM training.

(i.e. the info could be used with any opportunity.)

His tips were awesome, too.

And I learned a lot and was inspired each week.

Anyway, long story short…

I didn’t know exactly what company Art was with.

Nor did I care.

Because after a few of his training calls I just knew I wanted HIM as my sponsor. So I emailed him and one of his team called me and I ended up switching over (although I did not stick with it, since I was making my transition to being a copywriter — which I did not suck at — at the time).

Now, apply that to email.

You build a list of biz opp seekers and MLM’ers.

You send daily emails about GENERIC MLM & biz opp stuff.

And, you do it the way I teach.

Think of the people on your list who are frustrated with not making money or with their company or who just want a leader to follow… who they gonna call?

You’d be the man.

Nobody else would be good enough.

And it wouldn’t matter what “opportunity” you sell.

Why?

Because you’ve used email to position your bad self as a LEADER — not just an “expert” or “sales man.”

So yeah, I think my methods would work.

And I think you’d own.

For more info:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Last summer I met the perfect client.

A client who is ALWAYS ready to hire.

(Hint, hint…)

And who is like a “super client” dream come true for any hardworking, business-savvy copywriter. (The only thing this client is missing is a cape and tights…)

Why do I say this?

What makes this client so groovy?

Well, for one, this client will NEVER challenge you on price. Will NEVER ask you to work on projects where you don’t believe in the product. And will NEVER (ever) devalue your time or treat you like some kind of underling. Plus, this client will ALWAYS pay you on EVERY project you work on forever — all up front.

But that ain’t all.

This client only has projects you WANT to work on.

For products you 100% believe in.

And is willing to pay you whatever you ask.

(Without question, haggling or hemming-and-hawing.)

After knowing clients like this one I met, I can guarantee your time will always be respected. Your talents will always be appreciated. And never will there be a deadline you can’t handle.

This client is TOPS.

They will never leave you or forsake you.

And there’s NONE of the drama you get from other clients.

Sound almost like fantasy land?

Well, it’s not.

This client really DOES exist, and is just waiting to hire you, whenever you want, at the drop of a hat.

They don’t care about your portfolio.

Your track record.

Or if you’re a man or a woman, young or old.

Just say the word and the gig is yours.

Who is this super client?

Yourself!

Hey, am I saying never to take on other clients?

No!

Do what you have to do to survive.

But personally, I think it’s a mistake to rely on other clients exclusively for your income, as there are many things in their business beyond your control (especially if you have some kind of contingency/royalty deal gong on).

So I suggest also doing your own projects, too.

Start small, if you must.

Maybe find a product on clickbank to sell.

Build a list.

Then sell to it!

Write an email every day.

It sounds really simple.

(Cuz it is.)

But it will pay you dividends for years to come.

Far more than a client ever will.

To get started, zip on over to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

Got this question about getting clients:

“Ben I know you don’t do a lot of client work anymore but I plan to contact people with bad sales copy and offer to rework it for them and show them why I think I can make it better. Is that a good idea???”

Not really.

I’m not saying it never works.

But first, how do you know their sales copy isn’t pulling?

And second, that ain’t selling.

That’s pitching.

I can’t speak for anyone else, but back when I did client work, none of my clients came from pitching. It was always by selling. They were often on my email list, would call me up, we’d get to talking and I’d simply ask something like, “so how are you doing with your emails?”

They’d unload all the dirty details.

How nothing they did was working.

They were getting terrible response.

And do I offer that service…?

(I bet you could take it from there.)

Point is I was selling.

Not pitching.

I asked questions, got them talking about their problems, and let them sell themselves on me, instead of me selling myself to them.

Of course, the emails did most of the heavy lifting.

Emails probably did 80% of the work.

Clients came to me since they were on my list and watched me demonstrate my knowledge each day.

Hey, want clients?

Start writing a daily email.

I mean, think about it:

If you’re the ONLY one showing up regularly in their inbox with information demonstrating your awesomeness, who do you think they’re gonna call?

The lazy guy who mails once per month?

They’d be nutz NOT to call you.

You’d probably be their only pick.

Anyway, for more about writing emails, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

An email student gets attacked:

“Ben, since learning and doing emails your way I’ve had a lot of great success and more sales, but I’m also hearing from people who hate my guts! Is this normal???”

Indeed it is.

And it’s GOOD, too.

You’re on the right track, stud.

In fact, just recently I’ve been called all kinds of lovely names by people who simply disagreed with something I’ve said — like “asshole”… “huckster”… and even “psychopath” by a well-known Internet marketing teacher. (Except, according to him, just not a very “charming” psychopath. What does he mean I’m not charming? WTF???)

And you know what?

I’m thrilled by it all.

Means I’m doing something right.

Maybe even a LOT of things right.

Believe it or not, you can often gauge your effectiveness with email by how many people hate on you, despise you and envy you.

So keep up the good work!

Plus, realize this:

Anyone who dares stick their heads above the fray and give an opinion that takes others out of their cozy wittle comfort zones is gonna get shot at. So when you do email correctly you’re almost guaranteed to get a steamy pile of hate mail.

Don’t worry about it, though.

It’s a badge of honor.

It’ll put some hair on your chest.

And, it can also put money in your pocket.

I wrote about this a while back here:

www.BenSettle.com/blog/how-to-profit-from-hate-mail

Ben Settle

Remember Friday’s “typos” email?

The one about how typos can help your sales?

If you saw some of the inane, emotionally-charged responses I got from the spelling nazis to that email, you’d think I blasphemed a major religion!

(Hey, maybe I did…)

It was quite amusing, too.

So let’s see if I can’t piss ‘em off again today…

It’s been my observation that people who pound their chests hardest over typos or refuse to buy anything from an ad or email with bad grammar are almost always anal retentive writers, editors or loser intellectuals who can’t sell their way out of a paper bag, so they make up for it by becoming overly obnoxious spelling nazis.

And it’s funny, too.

Because most customers really don’t care.

They don’t even think about it.

Fact is, the majority of the population reads at a 5th grade level and wouldn’t know the difference between “their” and “there” or “who” or “whom” or even “goo-roo” and “guru” anyway.

It’s just not an issue for them.

It’s only an issue to the spelling nazis.

More:

Many years ago I remember world class copywriter John Carlton (who’s also one of the best “writers” I’ve ever seen — he can practically turn water into wine with his keyboard) talking about this.

This may not be exactly how he put it.

So don’t quote me on this.

(It was in a forum waaay back in like 2004.)

But he basically said in all his years of writing ads (for probably hundreds — if not thousands — of different markets and products) he’s never lost a known sale due to bad grammar or typos.

Instead, it was just the opposite.

He’s had ads missing entire PAGES mail without losing response.

How is that possible?

What’s going on?

Because if you know your market and how to write a decent ad, you have the reader in an almost trance-like state, where they don’t even notice they’re “reading” at all. They’re blowing through your ad/sales letter/email (whatever it is) and unconsciously filling in missing words, correcting spelling, typos, etc.

They’re not sitting there reading it word-for-word.

They’re skimming and skipping, etc.

In other words, they ain’t spelling nazis.

They’re regular people (who have lives).

And those who DO complain about a typo?

They’re NOT your customers.

First, those types rarely ever buy.

And secondly, I have noticed even if they do buy, they’re almost always the kind of nightmare customers who suck up your time and resources, and complain about dumb things (like the color of the packaging, a typo in the middle of the book, etc — instead of USING the product to solve whatever problem they bought it for in the first place).

Spelling nazis are a very needy bunch, after all.

Typically not very pleasant.

And prone to emotional meltdowns about little things.

(Like when they see a typo…)

That’s why their shtick is always:

“Well, if you don’t take the time to spellcheck or proofread, what else didn’t you take the time to do…”

That’s the main argument in their playbook.

To which I retort:

“If you’re whining about a typo in an informal email, then what else are you going to whine about when you buy the product… The color of the packaging? The thickness of the tape to seal the box? The book binding? The font? The copyright date?”

OK, one more thing.

The spelling nazis will NEVER admit this.

Probably, they don’t even realize it.

But the vast majority of people on planet Earth are FAR more comfortable buying from those who are “un-okay.” In other words: Real human beings, with flaws and who make the occasional mistake (and — GASP! — typo). At the same time, these same earthlings are very suspicious of (and uncomfortable buying from) people who are too perfect — especially anal retentive grammar storm troopers who can’t sell to save their lives, but (by cracky!) they sure cleaned up them typos…

This is one reason why ugly often out-sells pretty.

Why sloppy often out-sells clean.

And why a few accidental (or deliberate) typos in ads have been shown to out-sell perfectly “written” ads that follow all the rules of grammar, syntax and spelling to the letter.

Am I saying to riddle your emails with typos?

No.

That’d be stoopid.

Just don’t obsess over them.

And if a spelling nazi haunts you about it?

Tell ‘em to bugger off.

After all…

Email is about being a best selling writer.

Not a best spelling writer.

For more email training, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

A new reader slaps the spelling cuffs on me:

Your site looks great, but you have put there, instead of their in your first paragraph and it creates a poor impression. Just thought you’d like to know

I must be losing my touch if you only saw one.

You see, not all typos are bad.

In some cases, they serve a valuable purpose.

Here’s what I mean:

First, if someone decided not to buy something from me or hire me (actually, I’m not for hire, but still…) because of a misspelling or whatever then I’m delighted — that person would almost certainly be a big pain in the gluteus assimus to deal with.

(If I sold proof-reading services, that’d be the exception…)

Secondly:

I rarely care about spelling or grammar.

At least, in emails.

In fact, I often purposely leave misspelled words intact.

Why?

Because as Dan Kennedy and email Grand Puba Matt Furey say: “Money is attracted to speed” — and fixing little grammer/spelling erros (hehe I misspelled those words on purpose) is a waste of time when 99.9% of people simply won’t care or notice anyway.

More:

This’ll REALLY freak ye olde spelling police out.

But in another market (weight loss) I send first drafts.

By that I mean…

I crank the email out (usually in about 4-5 minutes) and then let ‘er rip. No editing (unless the URL is wrong) or even thinking about it.

Just sit, pound, send.

And it doesn’t hurt sales at all.

I’ve noticed it even HELPS sales sometimes.

That’s probably why old school copywriters used to purposely misspell things in their ads

It made their letters look genuine.

Like personal letters.

And not “sales pitches.”

OK, enough.

For more contrarian email training, go to:

www.EmailPlayers.com

Ben Settle

I put a new media interview on my site.

It’s a recording of a recent appearance on Todd Schnick’s “Intrepid Radio” show, and we rapped about some email tips and ideas which directly contradict what ye olde goo-roo’s like to teach.

Maybe we can clean up there mess, eh?

We’ll see.

To listen to it go to:

www.BenSettle.com/blog/media-interviews

It’s the 3rd interview down the page.

And it’s about 28 minutes long.

Ciao.

Ben Settle